Guide bar swinging mechanism for a double needle bar warp knitting machine



y 9 K. KOHL GUIDE BAR SWINGING MECHANISM FORADOUBLE NEEDLE BAR WARPKNITTING MACHINE Flled March 7, 1967 INVENTOR KA L KO United StatesPatent 0 3 444,703 GUIDE BAR SWINGING MECHANISM FOR A DOUBLE NEEDLE BARWARP KNITTING MACHINE Karl Kohl, Ofienbacher Landstr. 20, Hainstadt(Main), Germany Filed Mar. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 621,220 Claims priority,application Germany, Apr. 10, 1966,

Int. Cl. D04!) 23/02 US. C]. 6687 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE ARaschel warp knitting machine having two needle bars and two groups ofguide bars respectively mounted on two parallel guide bar rocking shaftsconnected for joint rocking movement.

Background of the disclosure This invention relates to a guide barswinging mechanism for warp knitting machines, and particularly to sucha mechanism for a double-needle-bar knitting machine.

It is known to offset the several yarn guides of a singlebar warpknitting machine, more specifically a Raschel machine, in the directionof knitting needle movement in order to reduce the time during which theneedle stands still for cooperation with several guide bars. If the eyesof the yarn guides are arranged in a straight horizontal row, the needlebar must stand still in its highest positlon during the entire lappingmovement of the guide bars. When the yarn guides are offset vertically,that is, in the normal direction of needle movement, the knittingneedles may move continuously, which permits the speed of the knittingmachines to be increased to a considerable extent.

The expedient of vertically offsetting the yarn guides is ineffective inconventional double-needle-bar machines because the yarn guides may beproperly offset relative to the needles of one needle bar only, buttheir positions are unsuited for needles of the other needle bar.Conventional donble-needle-bar machines, therefore, do not havevertically ofiset yarn guides, and their rate of output iscorrespondingly reduced.

It is the primary object of this invention to make the advantages ofoffset yarn guides available in a doublene'edle-bar warp knittingmachine.

Summary of the invention According to this invention, adouble-needle-bar Warp knitting machine is equipped with two parallelguide bar rocking shafts which are spacedly juxtaposed in the directionof lapping movement and carry respective guide bars. The two shafts areconnected for joint pivoting movement about the respective axes.

Other features and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment when considered in connection with the appended drawing.

Brief description of the drawing In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows the guide bar swinging mechanism of a double-needle-barRaschel knitting machine of the invention, the view being inside-elevation section;

FIG. 2 illustrates the yarn guides, trick plates, and knitting needlesin one operative position of the knitting machine partly illustrated inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 illustrates the knitting elements of FIG. 2 in another operativeposition.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawing indetail, there is shown only as much of an otherwise conventionaldouble-needlebar Raschel machine as is needed for an understanding ofthe invention.

The guide bar swinging mechanism of the invention shown in FIG. 1 hastwo guide bar rocking shafts 1, 2 which are mounted in thenon-illustrated machine frame for pivoting movement about parallel axesspaced in the principal direction of lapping movement, that is,horizontally. Clamping rings 3, 4 releasably fastened to the shafts 1, 2are equipped to carry several guide bars each, only one guide bar 5, 6being shown on each ring 3, 4 for thesake of clarity.

Integral, longitudinally slotted arms 31, 41 extend in oppositedirections from the rings 3, 4, and a pivot 42 adjustably secured in theslot 43 of the arm 41 connects the rocking shaft 2 with a connecting rod10. The rod 10 is linked in a conventional manner to an eccentric on thedrive shaft of the knitting machine (see Warp Knitting Technology, by D.F. Paling, Columbine Press, London, England, 1965, page 244). As thedrive shaft rotates, the arm 41 is oscillated, and the amplitude of itsmovement may be adjusted by varying the position of the pivot 42 in theslot 43.

Integral parallel arms 34, 44 extend upwardly from the rings 3, 4, andare hingedly connected by a link 11. The shaft 1, therefore, oscillatesjointly with the shaft 2. The arm 31 is not used in the illustratedmechanism. It may be connected with a separate cam on the drive shaft ofthe knitting machine by a connecting rod and other motion transmittingelements, as described with reference to the rod 10. The link 11 may beomitted if joint and synchronous movement of the shafts 1, 2 in the sameangular direction is achieved by a dual cam mechanism.

The eyes 7 of yarn guides 8, 9 on the guide bars 5, 6 move in arcuatepaths which are angularly offset during the oscillation of the shafts 1,2. While the eye 7 of the guide 8 moves in an obliquely downwarddirection indicated by the arrow 15, the eye of the guide 9 movesobliquely upwardly in the direction of the arrow 16. Conversely, theguide 9 moves obliquely downwardly along the arrow 21 while the guide 8moves upwardly in the direction of the arrow 20 from the neutral orcentral position of the guide bar swinging mechanism shown in FIG. 1.

The relative positions of knitting implements in the two angularlyterminal positions of the shafts 1, 2 are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.When the latch needles 12 mounted on a non-illustrated common needle barand guided in the trick plate 13 are near their highest position, asshown in FIG. 2, the shafts 1, 2 begin their clockwise stroke, as viewedin FIG. 1, for the backward swing of the yarn guides in the direction ofthe arrow 14. The eye in the leading yarn guide 8 is much lower than theeye in the trailing yarn guide 9.

FIG. 3 shows the position of the knitting implements just prior to thecounterclockwise movement of the shafts 1, 2, which causes forwardswinging movement of the guides 8, 9 in the direction of the arrow 19.The needles 17 in the trick plate 18 are approaching their highestpositions, and the needles 12 are fully retracted. The eye of theleading guide 9 is lower than that of the trailing guide 8.

The several guides are, therefore, vertically offset during theirlapping movement in the manner conventional with single-needle-barmachines, but their relative vertical positions are inverted as neededfor cooperation with the needles of the two needle bars.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a Warp knitting machine having two needle bars,

a plurality of guide bars, and a guide bar swinging mechanism, theimprovement in said swinging mechanism comprising:

(a) two guide bar rocking shafts elongated in a common direction andspaced transversely of said direction, each shaft carrying at least oneof said guide bars, and having an axis; and

(b) actuating means for jointly oscillating said shafts about therespective axes in the same angular direction.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,155,146 4/1939 Morton et a1. 66---86 2,480,1758/1949 Young 66-84 3,205,684 9/1965 Liebchen 6687 FOREIGN PATENTS827,072 2/1960 Great Britain.

15 RONALD FELDBAUM, Primary Examiner.

